"The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof. . ." (Article I, Sec. 3 United States Constitution - Adopted 1787, Ratified 1788)

"When vacancies happen in the representation of any state in the Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, that the legislature of any state may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct." (Amendment XVII United States Constitution - Ratified 1913)

These two sections of the United States Constitution are the heart of why the Trust The People ballot initiative faces very real legal challenges and why I authored HB 414. It is also for these reasons that Rep. Harry Crawford, one of the initiative sponsors, publicly supports this bill. Without this bill there is a substantial possibility that this needed change will not be made, regardless of how many Alaskans signed the petition supporting such an initiative, and I firmly believe that would be an even greater injustice to the will of Alaska's voters.

It has been accurately noted that I was one of the members of the 22nd Legislature who voted for the change in our congressional vacancy process-and I openly admit that. I also openly admit that it was a mistake. As a freshman legislator learning the ropes I supported my caucus despite my own concerns. Since that time many of my constituents have made it clear that they disagree with the new appointment process and believe they should have the opportunity to vote on any such future vacancies in our congressional delegation, but the Legislature created this problem and it has an obligation to correct it.

In order to fully understand why the legislature chose to act two years ago, why it has an obligation to act now, and why this particular initiative is in legal jeopardy, it is essential to understand the motives and intentions of our founding fathers. It is by their design that state legislatures originally had unilateral authority for the selection of US Senators and even after the adoption of the 17th Amendment retained broad authority over the process of filling vacancies. In Federalist Paper 62, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison wrote:

"It is equally unnecessary to dilate on the appointment of senators by State legislatures. . .It is recommended by double the advantage of favoring a select appointment, and of giving to the State governments such an agency in the formation of the federal government as must secure the authority of the former, and may form a convenient link between the two systems."

The original election process was as important as the senators themselves in maintaining a close working relationship between the federal and state governments.

In addition to the above points, it seems that there is a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding about what Alaska's constitution says about the initiative process. Article XI, Section 4 clearly gives the legislature broad discretion to both amend initiatives and to enact legislation with language substantially similar to that included on a proposed ballot initiative. Perhaps more importantly is the specific provision that requires more than 120 days to elapse between the adjournment of a legislative session and an initiative appearing on the ballot. This provision was intentionally included to allow the legislature time to consider and, if necessary, act upon a proposed initiative. In the 1975 case Warren v. Boucher, the Alaska Supreme Court noted because the legislature possesses broad power to amend an initiative, it therefore "has broad power to change an initiative by enactment covering the same subject as the initiated measure."

The bottom line is this: Legislation passed by the legislature and enacted by the Governor is the only guaranteed method that our congressional vacancy laws are changed to reflect public opinion.

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